Hello my fellow 365ers and I don't often struggle with things that I am asked to do but on this occasion I would appreciate the input from you guys and girls. I have been offered the chance to shoot up close and personal with the Belfast Giants Hockey Team (Ice Hockey for the UK contributors) and welcome advice on settings, POV's etc that make for good sports photography. I am sure that out there are a few people that have done this but I welcome any advice that would help me out. If you know or know someone who can please chip in and thanks in advance.
I am no expert, but I a friend of mine shoots sports events and know that he only shoots in Jpeg only as using RAW affects the processing time in camera between shots. Not sure if this is helpful ~ but good luck! :-)
Get a long and fast lens... hire one if needed! I take it you're shooting a game as well as the players backstage? You'll need a fast lens for two reasons - one it's action and the second is that it'll be indoors and the light may not be brilliant. Two things that will equal blurry shots unless you get a good lens.
Not sure if you can but it may be worthwhile going to a hockey match before the match. From my time in NY I remember it as a all action sport. If it is in one if the vie arenas light wasn't and issue so shutter speed may need to be fast, panning skills and sometimes action of the puck was the best.
I agree with @padlock it would be good to have a test run so you can work out how to get your camera set up for different types of shot. My guess is that lighting could be difficult to work with and you may end up with quite a high ISO to stop action at a mid point aperture.
I take a lot of Horse Racing and Cricket photos, and I would say there are a few rules I tend to follow that are applicable.
1.Go to the event with a list of the shots you are after.
2.Decide what is most important for each shot, Aperture or shutter speed. ie stopping a puck would take a super fast shutter speed.
3.Look for different POVs, including some that you may not be able to normally access as a paying spectator.
4.Get some crowd or crowd and action shots too, they can show a lot of emotion.
5.I tend to shoot JPeg only when I may want to take a burst of shots.
6.Be lucky, try to anticipate action and be ready.
7.Shoot wider than the action and be prepared to crop, it is amazing the times I wish I had done this!!
Others have said most of this already but some of the things the books say...
Fast shutter to stop the action, so S priority mode and a shutter of 1/250 at least if the light and the lens will let you More if you can, i.e. if you have a fast lens. Blurred sports motion might be arty, but not for what you have been asked to do I think.
As low an ISO as you possibly can for the light and shutter. Set your ISO sensitivity accordingly. This is to keep the noise as low as you possibly can, but you will probably end up with at least ISO 1000.
A fast lens, f/2.8 at least. They will be heavy. Ever notice all those pros with the huge glass on the sidelines? The classic f/2.8 70-200 zooms should be fine, unless you are behind one of the nets and are shooting across to the other goal. But high quality zooms are h-e-a-v-y. A wider prime would give you even better exposure possibilities, but might limit your possibilities. Such lenses are expensive, even to rent, but worth it for how they perform. Use the lens hood and watch for the stadium lights.
Almost always of course but especially in sports photography, it's the lens, not the camera, that usually makes the shot. The only exception is, naturally, the high ISO performance. This is why you see pro sports shooters with D4 Nikons and 1Dx Canons that cost the earth, along with the huge glass and monopods.
You probably will be shooting through glass, especially if you are close. Even more important to get the exposure and focus spot on. Watch for reflections that might be annoying.
Steady the camera as much as you can. A monopod is best. Especially if you will have a heavy fast lens, which you should. You see pros with these all the time too. If you rely on Optical Stabilization, use only the "sports" mode that will allow horizontal panning, or turn it off altogether. It could interfere badly and blur your shots.
JPEGS, OK, but modern cameras should be fast enough with RAW and RAW will give you much better opportunities to remove noise and recover detail in shadows and poor light. Rely on processing to recover detail in poor light. Pros usually shoot JPEG, but mostly because of habit, little time to deadlines and space on the SD card.
"Tracking focus" focus (AF-A or AF-C and 3D Area in Nikon-speak) often works well, but it will be a big drain on your battery. Bring an extra fully charged battery. Accurate focus will probably give you the biggest shooting headaches since you will be shooting with wide apertures and consequent shallow DoF.
Drive mode (multiple exposures) will be best of course to get just the right shot in a particular situation. You will end up with a LOT of images. Take an extra SD card and try to use the fastest and biggest cards you can
Practice first, and don't stop trying. it will be very frustrating as you begin. I speak from first hand experience.
Good Luck Andy! Hope you can post some here on 365.
Andy, for sports and action everyone has mentioned fast lenses etc. I recommend AF-C, continuous high speed shutter, check lighting often and use the best aperture setting with the shutter as a min over 1/160 and closer to 1/250 since the puck and play is very fast in hockey. Good luck!
I would not be sure but have heard f2.8 is a good aperture - I occassionally photograph other sports and just play about with shutter speed. I do occassionally use the sports setting on my camera.
Buy a very fast SD card, extended writing will freeze your camera up. They are expensive, but well worth it. I shoot in Raw+, and the raw will save me sometimes. I rarely shoot in auto, as it can change the color settings around you. A very fast shutter speed is a must, as I shoot birds in flight. Auto ISO will help that when you first try it. Go to a practice game somewhere and you practice. That will help get the webs out of your head. Good luck.
I shoot American football. The ideas above are all good ones. I think the most important thing is to research ahead of time, both by studying the photos others have taken and by attending a match ahead of time with your camera and taking practice shots. By the hundreds, if possible! I try to heed the advice "Four eyes and a ball" or, in your case, a puck. After a goal, a penalty, etc, keep shooting for good expressions and body language.
My kids play lots of sports, so I'm constantly taking pictures at some sporting event. Indoors are a problem for lighting, almost as bad as outdoors at night. Sounds like you've already gotten lots of good advice. My best advice is to zoom in and keep snapping pictures. When action is moving that fast there isn't really a lot of time to focus and set up a shot. The more shots you take, the better the chance will be that you get some good shots. Good luck Have fun!
My kids play roller hockey and have for more than a decade (about 12 years now). Out of literally thousands of shots, I have a handful that are actually very good. I have a nice DSLR, but it is not professional quality. One of the dads a few years ago (his kid doesn't play anymore) was a professional photographer and he took photos of all the kids, printed them and handed them out to us. They were AMAZING shots -- the color, clarity and so on. So I asked him his secret, hoping I could duplicate it. He said a $5000 lens. Well, that's not in my budget. I have gotten better results with my Canon Rebel than I ever did with my 35mm, but I am still waiting for that perfect shot of my kid making a goal. The good thing about shooting for the team rather than just your own kid is that I frequently end up with great pictures of other people's kids (and yes, I do share). But that great shot of your own kid? That requires persistence and a huge does of serendipity! Still waiting.....Good luck with your shoot!
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I take a lot of Horse Racing and Cricket photos, and I would say there are a few rules I tend to follow that are applicable.
1.Go to the event with a list of the shots you are after.
2.Decide what is most important for each shot, Aperture or shutter speed. ie stopping a puck would take a super fast shutter speed.
3.Look for different POVs, including some that you may not be able to normally access as a paying spectator.
4.Get some crowd or crowd and action shots too, they can show a lot of emotion.
5.I tend to shoot JPeg only when I may want to take a burst of shots.
6.Be lucky, try to anticipate action and be ready.
7.Shoot wider than the action and be prepared to crop, it is amazing the times I wish I had done this!!
Fast shutter to stop the action, so S priority mode and a shutter of 1/250 at least if the light and the lens will let you More if you can, i.e. if you have a fast lens. Blurred sports motion might be arty, but not for what you have been asked to do I think.
As low an ISO as you possibly can for the light and shutter. Set your ISO sensitivity accordingly. This is to keep the noise as low as you possibly can, but you will probably end up with at least ISO 1000.
A fast lens, f/2.8 at least. They will be heavy. Ever notice all those pros with the huge glass on the sidelines? The classic f/2.8 70-200 zooms should be fine, unless you are behind one of the nets and are shooting across to the other goal. But high quality zooms are h-e-a-v-y. A wider prime would give you even better exposure possibilities, but might limit your possibilities. Such lenses are expensive, even to rent, but worth it for how they perform. Use the lens hood and watch for the stadium lights.
Almost always of course but especially in sports photography, it's the lens, not the camera, that usually makes the shot. The only exception is, naturally, the high ISO performance. This is why you see pro sports shooters with D4 Nikons and 1Dx Canons that cost the earth, along with the huge glass and monopods.
You probably will be shooting through glass, especially if you are close. Even more important to get the exposure and focus spot on. Watch for reflections that might be annoying.
Steady the camera as much as you can. A monopod is best. Especially if you will have a heavy fast lens, which you should. You see pros with these all the time too. If you rely on Optical Stabilization, use only the "sports" mode that will allow horizontal panning, or turn it off altogether. It could interfere badly and blur your shots.
JPEGS, OK, but modern cameras should be fast enough with RAW and RAW will give you much better opportunities to remove noise and recover detail in shadows and poor light. Rely on processing to recover detail in poor light. Pros usually shoot JPEG, but mostly because of habit, little time to deadlines and space on the SD card.
"Tracking focus" focus (AF-A or AF-C and 3D Area in Nikon-speak) often works well, but it will be a big drain on your battery. Bring an extra fully charged battery. Accurate focus will probably give you the biggest shooting headaches since you will be shooting with wide apertures and consequent shallow DoF.
Drive mode (multiple exposures) will be best of course to get just the right shot in a particular situation. You will end up with a LOT of images. Take an extra SD card and try to use the fastest and biggest cards you can
Practice first, and don't stop trying. it will be very frustrating as you begin. I speak from first hand experience.
Good Luck Andy! Hope you can post some here on 365.